Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns of Aggressive Behavior and Peer Victimization from Childhood to Early Adolescence: A Latent Class Analysis

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The developmental period characterized by the transition from childhood and elementary school to early adolescence and middle school has been associated with increases in aggressive behavior and peer victimization. Few longitudinal studies, however, have examined the stability of aggression and victimization during this critical transition. This study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to examine patterns of aggressive behavior and victimization during the transition to middle school among urban, public school students (N = 458; Girls = 53%; Latino/a = 53%; M age at t1 = 10.2 years). Independent LCA models were conducted using self-reported data assessing subjects’ involvement in aggressive conduct and victimization during the spring semesters of grades four, five, and six. Elementary school students in the fourth grade initially belonged to one of four groups identified as aggressor, victim, aggressor-victim, and uninvolved latent classes. Contrary to prior research, membership in these classes changed significantly by the time students completed their first year of middle school with most youth participating in episodes of aggression and victimization during the transition. Six common paths that describe patterns of aggressive behavior and victimization from the last two years of elementary school to the first year of middle school were found. Findings are discussed in the context of social dominance theory and prior research that has found greater stability in aggression and victimization among early adolescents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, R. E., Bartlett, N. H., & Bukowsdki, N. H. (2010). Peer victimization and social dominance as intervening variables of the link between peer liking and relational aggression. Journal of Early Adolescence, 30, 102–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berk, K. N., & Lachenbruch, P. A. (2002). Repeated measures with zeros. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 11, 303–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brame, B., Nagin, D. S., & Tremblay, R. E. (2003). Development trajectories of physical aggression from school entry to late adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42, 503–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broidy, L. M., Tremblay, R. E., Brame, B., Fergusson, D., Horwood, J. L., Laird, R., et al. (2003). Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviors and adolescent delinquency: A six-site, cross-national study. Developmental Psychology, 39, 222–245.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Card, N. A., Stucky, B. D., Sawalani, G. M., & Little, T. D. (2008). Direct and indirect aggression during childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic review of gender differences, intercorrelations, and relations to maladjustment. Child Development, 79I, 1185–1229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Elder, G. H., & Bem, D. J. (1987). Moving against the world: Life-course patterns of explosive children. Developmental Psychology, 23, 308–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710–722.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N. R., Werner, N. E., Casas, J. F., O’Brien, K. M., Nelson, D. A., Grotpeter, J. K., et al. (1999). Childhood aggression and gender: A new look at an old problem. In D. Bernstein (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delucchi, K. L., & Bostrom, A. (2004). Methods for analysis of skewed data distributions in psychiatric clinical studies: Working with many zero values. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(7), 1159–1168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., & Schiefele, U. (1998). Motivation to succeed. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 1017–1096). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Ttofi, M. M. (2009). Reducing school bullying: Evidence-based implications for policy. Crime and Justice, 38, 281–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giang, M. T., & Graham, S. (2008). Using latent class analysis to identify aggressors and victims of peer harassment. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 203–213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1988). Developmental processes in the construction of self. In T. D. Yawkey & J. E. Johnson (Eds.), Integrative processes and socialization: Early to middle childhood. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawley, P. H. (2003). Prosocial and coercive configurations of resource control in early adolescence. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 49, 279–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, J. M., & Dieterich, W. A. (2007). Effects of a skills-based prevention program on bullying and bullying victimization among elementary school children. Prevention Science, 8, 285–296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, J. M., Dieterich, W. A., Brisson, D., Bender, K. A., & Powell, A. Preventing childhood bullying: Findings and lessons from the Denver Public Schools Trial. Research on Social Work Practice (in press).

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, (2010). Drug use, drinking, and smoking: National survey results from high school, college, and young adult populations. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juvonen, J., Graham, S., & Shuster, M. A. (2003). Bullying among young adolescents: The strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics, 112, 1231–1237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Juvonen, J., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2000). Peer harassment, psychological adjustment, and school functioning in early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 349–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, M. S., Raines, J. C., Stone, S., & Frey, A. (2010). School social work: An evidence-informed framework for practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lachenbruch, P. A. (2002). Analysis of data with excess zeros. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 11, 297–302.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D., Henrich, C. C., Jones, S. M., & Hawley, P. H. (2003). Disentangling the “whys” from the “whats” of aggressive behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 122–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88, 767–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Hay, D. (1997). Key issues in the development of aggression and violence from early childhood to early adulthood. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 371–410.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffit, T. (1993). Adolescent-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 10, 674–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray-Close, D., Ostrov, J. M., & Crick, N. R. (2007). A short-term longitudinal study of growth in relational aggression during middle childhood: Associations with gender, friendship intimacy, and internalizing problems. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 187–203.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. O., & Muthén, L. K. (2008). Mplus (Version 5.2). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, W. J., Simons-Morton, B. G., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Association, 285, 2094–2100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007a). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 535–569.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K., Bellmore, A., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2007b). Subtypes, severity, and structural stability of peer victimization: What does latent class analysis say? Child Development, 78, 1706–1722.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, M. K., & Schafer, J. L. (2001). A two-part random effects model for semicontinuous longitudinal data. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 96, 730–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1996). The revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire for students. Bergen: University of Bergen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (2004). The Olweus Bullying prevention programme: Design and implementation issues and a new national initiative in Norway. In P. K. Smith, D. Pepler, & K. Rigby (Eds.), Bullying in schools. How successful can interventions be? (pp. 13–36). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Parkhurst, J. T., & Hopmeyer, A. (1998). Sociometric popularity and peer-received popularity: Two distinct dimensions of peer status. Journal of Early Adolescence, 18, 125–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D. (2002). Bullying, victimization, and sexual harassment during the transition to middle school. Educational Psychologist, 37, 151–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D., & Bartini, M. (2001). Dominance in early adolescent boys: Affiliative and aggressive dimensions and possible functions. American Educational Research Journal, 37, 699–726.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D., & Long, J. D. (2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 259–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D., & Long, J. D. (2004a). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 259–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D., & Long, J. D. (2004b). Part of the solution and part of the problem: The role of peers in bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school to middle school. In D. L. Espelage & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools: A social-ecological perspective on prevention and intervention (pp. 107–118). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepler, D., Craig, W., Yuile, A., & Connolly, J. (2004). Girls who bully: A developmental and relational perspective. In M. Putallaz & K. L. Bierman (Eds.), Aggression, antisocial behavior, and violence among girls: A developmental perspective (pp. 90–109). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puzzanchera, C. (2009). Juvenile arrests, 2008. (NCJ 227489): Washington DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/228479.pdf.

  • Raftery, A. E. (1995). Bayesian model selection in social research (with discussion by Andrew Gelman, Donald B. Rubin, Robert M. Hauser, and rejoinder). In P. V. Marsden (Ed.), Sociological methodology. Massachusetts: Blackwells.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, K., Smith, P. K., & Pepler, D. (2004). Working to prevent school bullying: Key issues. In P. K. Smith, D. Pepler, & K. Rigby (Eds.), Bullying in schools: How successful can interventions be? (pp. 1–12). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roland, E. (2002). Bullying, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. Educational Research, 44, 55–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C. (2002). Is there an age decline in victimization by peers at school? Educational Research, 44, 269–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, M., Korn, S., Brodbeck, F. C., Wolke, D., & Schulz, H. (2005). Bullying roles in changing contexts: The stability of victim and bully roles from primary to secondary school. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 323–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholte, R. H., Engels, R., Overbeek, G., de Kemp, R., & Haselager, G. (2007). Stability in bullying and victimization and its association with social adjustment in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 217–228.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Solberg, M. E., & Olweus, D. (2003). Prevalence estimation of school bullying with the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 239–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solberg, M. E., Olweus, D., & Endresen, I. M. (2007). Bullies and victims at school: Are they the same pupils? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 441–464.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tofti, M. M., & Farrington, D. P. (2009). What works in preventing bullying: Effective elements of anti-bullying programmes. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 1, 13–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R. E., Boulerice, B., Harden, P. W., McDuff, P., Pérusse, D., Pihl, R. O., et al. (1996). Do children in Canada become more aggressive as they approach adolescence? In Human Resources Development Canada & Statistics Canada (Ed.), Growing up in Canada: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (pp. 127–137). Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood, M. K. (2003). Social aggression among girls. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Nansel, T. R. (2009). School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45, 368–375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, 1545 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA

    Anne Powell Williford

  2. Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO, 80208, USA

    Daniel Brisson, Kimberly A. Bender, Jeffrey M. Jenson & Shandra Forrest-Bank

Authors
  1. Anne Powell Williford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daniel Brisson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kimberly A. Bender
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jeffrey M. Jenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shandra Forrest-Bank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Powell Williford.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Williford, A.P., Brisson, D., Bender, K.A. et al. Patterns of Aggressive Behavior and Peer Victimization from Childhood to Early Adolescence: A Latent Class Analysis. J Youth Adolescence 40, 644–655 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9583-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9583-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation